Via Phil Plait, here is an amazing timelapse series taken from the International Space Station and assembled by James Drake as it flies over the Americas from north to south during the night:

The timelapse starts over the clouded North Pacific and moves toward the west coast of the United States, where one can see the yellow lights of civilization. The space station continues over California and then Meixco. Off the coast of Mexico, one can see thunderstorms with the flashes of lighting illuminating vast swaths of cloud and these thunderstorms continue off the coast of Central America until the space station reaches South America. It traces along the Andes until it reaches Chile, at which point, the sun rises, flooding the camera and ending the movie.